The Lightning Strike Protocol
Mara had been running on caffeine and resentment for three weeks when the server room flooded. Not a metaphorical flood—actual water, seeping through the ceiling tiles where the HV...
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Mara had been running on caffeine and resentment for three weeks when the server room flooded. Not a metaphorical flood—actual water, seeping through the ceiling tiles where the HV...
The carnival goldfish bowl sat on Marcus's desk, a ridiculous splash of orange in a corner office that smelled of stale coffee and impending layoffs. His daughter had won it at the...
The papaya sat on the counter, its skin mottled with yellow like something bruised. Elena sliced it open, the orange flesh bleeding onto the cutting board—soft, yielding, too ripe....
Mara pressed her palm against the hotel room window, watching the orange sun bleed into the Nile. Below, a fox darted through the gardens, quick and clever—like Julian, she thought...
Margot sat by the apartment complex pool, legs dangling in the water, the iphone burning a hole in her bag. It had been three weeks since she'd become something she never intended:...
The coaxial cable lay severed on the carpet like a dead snake, its copper entrails exposed. Mara stared at it, the way she'd stared at Marcus for the past three months—with a mixtu...
Elena had been running for three years. Not from anything specific — not anymore — but running nonetheless. Five miles every morning through the foggy streets of Seattle, her breat...
Elena stood on the balcony of the thirty-fifth floor, the city beneath her like spilled wine. In her hand, a glass of sparkling water caught the light—she'd stopped drinking two ye...
Elena stood on the fire escape of her twentieth-floor apartment, watching the rain blur the city lights into neon smears. The broken cable dangling from the wall above had been swi...
Maya stood at the edge of the infinity pool, her dark hair plastered to her neck in the humidity. The Caribbean sunset bled orange across the horizon, but she couldn't appreciate i...
Maya woke at 3 AM to the glow of her iPhone on the nightstand—another notification from work that could wait until morning. She felt like a zombie, hollowed out by six months of di...
Elena sat across from Marcus at the corner table of the dimly lit bar, watching him fumble with the small amber bottle. His hands trembled slightly—a side effect, he'd explained, o...